Are China’s gifts a blessing or a curse for Cambodia?

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Cambodian

Posted in Culture, Economics, Environment, Leadership, Politics, Researches

Are China’s gifts a blessing or a curse for Cambodia?

29 August 2018

Author: Pheakdey Heng, Enrich Institute

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The entrance to Kratie University flanked with Chinese and Cambodian flags in a photo posted on Facebook last week.

China’s growing dominance is met with equally growing concern in Cambodia. Despite the economic gains, too much dependence on China comes with significant commitment and risk. Reliance on China’s aid may induce Cambodia to fall into a debt trap, resulting in a loss of autonomy as a sovereign state and the deterioration of its relations with other ASEAN member states.

The lack of transparency and accountability of China’s projects is also causing social and environmental challenges in Cambodia. Criticism that Chinese companies are racing to exploit Cambodia’s resources while paying little regard to international best development practices are common among civil society actors.

The Kamchay dam, the first large-scale Chinese investment project in Cambodia, is a telling example. The dam destroyed 2000 hectares of productive forest, threatened animal species, lowered water quality and negatively affected the livelihood of local communities.

Chinese firm Union Development was awarded a concession of nearly 40,000 hectares — almost four times the amount allowed under Cambodian law — to develop a multi-billion dollar tourism hub in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. Human rights groups allege that fishermen who had lived in the area for generations were summarily evicted, taken inland and told that they were now farmers.

Chinese investment in Cambodia’s real estate market is almost exclusively aimed at the Cambodian upper class, as well as Chinese tourists and businessmen. This is driving market prices up, making housing unaffordable for most Cambodians.

Chinese investment is also transforming Sihanoukville, once Cambodia’s premier seaside resort, into a bustling casino town. The unprecedented surge in Chinese tourists and casino development in Sihanoukville is benefitting a small group Cambodia’s rich elite, but many other Cambodians are being driven out of the area by the skyrocketing cost of living.

Even though Chinese investment is bringing wealth to Cambodia, this wealth is mainly kept within Cambodia’s Chinese community. Chinese residents and visitors in Cambodia buy from Chinese businesses, eat in Chinese restaurants and stay in Chinese hotels. The trickle-down effect to local businesses is minimal.

China’s economic power and influence can be a source for sustainable development in Cambodia, but for this to happen requires strong leadership from both countries. Both sides must make concerted efforts to promote transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in development projects.

Shared responsibility and multi-stakeholder partnership should be the guiding principles of foreign investment in Cambodia to ensure that Chinese investment and aid contributes to Cambodia’s economic, social and environmental progress in the long run.

Read the entire article at AsiaForum

កិច្ចសម្ភាសន៍វីអូអេ៖ លទ្ធផលនិងភាពមិនប្រក្រតីនៃការបោះឆ្នោត

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Cambodian

Posted in Culture, Economics, Education, Leadership, Politics, Researches, Social

Op-Ed: The CEROC

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កិច្ចសម្ភាសន៍វីអូអេ៖ លទ្ធផលនិងភាពមិនប្រក្រតីនៃការបោះឆ្នោត

គណៈកម្មាធិការជាតិរៀបចំការបោះឆ្នោតនឹងប្រកាសលទ្ធផលផ្លូវការនៃការបោះឆ្នោតជ្រើសតាំងតំណាងរាស្ត្រនីតិកាលទី៦នៅថ្ងៃពុធទី១៥ ខែសីហា ស្អែកនេះ ដោយអះអាងថា គ្មានពាក្យបណ្ដឹងពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងលទ្ធផលបណ្ដោះអាសន្ននៃការបោះឆ្នោតនេះទេ។ ប៉ុន្តែ អ្នកឃ្លាំមើលការបោះឆ្នោតពីក្រៅប្រទេស អះអាងថា លទ្ធផលនៃបោះឆ្នោតនេះ មានភាពមិនប្រក្រតីមួយចំនួន។ លោក សាយ មុន្នី នៃវីអូអេ សម្ភាសន៍លោក សេង សុភ័ណ ប្រធានគណៈកម្មាធិការ ដើម្បីសិទ្ធិបោះឆ្នោតរបស់ពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសនិងជាអតីតមន្ត្រីបោះឆ្នោតនៅខេត្តអាល់បើតានៃប្រទេសកាណាដា អំពីបញ្ហានេះ។ khmer.voanews.com | voacambodia.com #cambodia #khmer #voakhmer

Holding Cambodia Accountable for Its Descent into One-Party Rule

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Cambodian

Posted in Economics, Education, Leadership, Politics, Researches, Social

Next Steps for Accountability

Given these new developments, the U.S. should take concerted action to hold Hun Sen and other cronies in the Cambodian government to account. The U.S. and other key actors in the international community, including the European Union, signaled their disapproval of the dissolution of the opposition and deteriorating conditions in the country. These actions may have been too little too late. A more robust response should have been carried out five years ago after flawed 2013 elections revealed a state of deteriorating democracy in Cambodia.22 The U.S. should take further steps to hold the Cambodian government accountable:

Name and sanction Hun Sen and other party cadres for the role they play in undermining democracy in Cambodia. The U.S. Treasury Department should use all available tools in its toolbox to freeze and seize assets of known individuals actively obstructing freedom in Cambodia. It should expand its use of existing Global Magnitsky authorities and use any other relevant authorities to place individuals on the SDN list. Such an action would send a clear signal to Hun Sen that the U.S. will intervene in necessary ways to get Cambodia back on the path toward democratic reform.
Expand existing visa restrictions on Cambodian officials undermining democracy. The U.S. State Department should follow through on promises made in its condemnation of the July 2018 election to expand existing visa restrictions on Cambodian government officials. One potential way to expand these authorities would be to extend visa restrictions unequivocally to family members, especially to Hun Sen’s direct family members. (Current visa restrictions only apply to family members on a case-by-case basis.)23
Create and convene an emergency meeting of the Cambodia Contact Group comprised of parties to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, including the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, the U.K., and France, to monitor and press for democratic reform. Among the purposes of the Paris agreement was to ensure “the right to self-determination of the Cambodian people through free and fair elections” and “assuring protection of human rights.”24 The signatories have a continuing moral obligation in this regard. The contact group should be used to coordinate human rights policies and assistance programs toward Cambodia. In short order, leaders from all of the countries at the foreign-minister level should convene to draw up coordinated plans to hold the Cambodian government accountable and get Cambodia back on the path toward reform.
Condition assistance to Cambodia on the health of democracy. The U.S. should adopt stringent metrics for determining whether Cambodia is eligible for key assistance programs. Such language could mirror proposed conditions in the 2019 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill.25 Language in the Senate version of the appropriations bill is particularly strong and specific. The U.S. government should conduct a thorough review of all assistance to Cambodia and consider instituting more severe restrictions on aid. Emphasis should be placed on holding the Cambodian government accountable without harming the people themselves.
Continue to press for the release of Kem Sokha. Every U.S. government statement issued in response to deteriorating conditions in Cambodia should continue to reference Kem Sokha’s imprisonment and request that the Cambodian government release him immediately. The U.S. government should also make clear that there will be additional consequences if Kem Sokha continues to be held. Without a swift, coordinated plan democracy may never be restored in Cambodia. The U.S. and the international community should learn from the mistakes of its limited response after the 2013 election and respond to the 2018 elections in an offensive, rather than defensive, manner. The U.S. should plan for conditions to continue to deteriorate and put in place mechanisms that ensure Hun Sen and his CPP cronies are held to account

Read more details at Asia Foundation…

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As Singapore dredges sand out from beneath Cambodia’s mangrove forests, an ecosystem, a communal way of life, and one woman’s relationship to her beloved home are faced with the threat of erasure.

I remember my first trip to the mangrove forests near the island of Koh Sralau and along Cambodia’s coastline. I had no idea how extensive the mangrove forests were or how spectacular they would be. The forests stretched for miles and miles, carving out small islands, narrow waterways and channels, and ecologically diverse estuaries. I wanted to document the impact of sand dredging on the mangroves and on the lives of the people who live and thrive in these forests and the oceans surrounding them.

For over a decade, the government of Cambodia has granted several private companies concessions to mine these mangrove forests for sand. Each year, millions of metric tons of sand are shipped to Singapore to enlarge this island nation’s land mass, while Cambodia destroys its only natural protection against erosion, rising sea levels, tsunamis, and hurricanes and lays waste to a vital and fragile ecosystem that thousands of families depend on for their livelihood.

Read more details at Emergence Magazine…

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In late July, Cambodia participated (sort of) in the General Election, without having the option to choose the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which had been dissolved by the Supreme Court last November. The landslide victory by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) all but assures Prime Minister Hun Sen of near total control of the country. For poll watchers, observers of democracy and human rights activists, the post-mortem reflection on Cambodia’s decline will be painful. But for how long? This brief analysis offers three likely developments in Cambodia that offer both a glimpse of optimism and words of warning.

No. 1: Any imposed sanctions on Cambodia will fail: When the CPP clamped down on political freedoms, Western governments reacted strongly, yet predictably. Economic sanctions were at the top of the list of suggested responses. The United States called forsanctions for Cambodia in January after the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha. Recently, the U.S. and the European Union have called for sanctions on high-ranking officials and more, including thoughts of stripping Cambodia of tax-free access to Western textile markets. If implemented, the loss of revenue could top $650 million. While that wouldcause few reservations for the CPP and Prime Minister Hun Sen, the impact would be felt by up to a million poor Cambodians who work in the textile and garment industries. Sanctions would almost certainly jeopardize efforts to boost national economic standing. The World Bank graduated Cambodia from LDC to lower-middle-income status in 2016and the United Nations has been supporting the country in efforts to move to upper-middle income status by 2030. Threats of sanctions reflect myopic foreign policies that fail to grasp the larger economic and political landscape. While Cambodia will not be able to find alternative Chinese markets for their goods, they will find political solace from Beijing and a new source of legitimate criticism in which to rest short-term political futures. The Americans should learn from the past. The U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge gained to power in 1975 and kept them through 1992. Cambodia relied then on China and communist states for their economic survival and it will soon again. Economic sanctions simply don’t work. They rarely have.

No. 2: Cambodia’s civil society will re-emerge: Creeping authoritarianism in the months before the July 2018 election subjected Cambodian civil society groups working in Cambodia to repressive restrictions. Recently, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that the judiciary has been used by the government to tighten controls on civil society groups that the regime saw as a threat, including the closure of some independent media organizations, violent responses to demonstrations, and arbitrary detention and arrest of human rights and political activists. The government passed the Law on Associations and NGOs in 2015, which provided a legal means for threatening civil society groups. However, the cost of repression is often high and civil society often quickly learns to adapt to acts of state violence. One need only look at Cambodia’s neighbor to the west as an example. Thailand imposed a number of repressive laws in the aftermath of the 2014 coup d’etat. Groups of five people were banned from gathering in public, political activists were arrested, and thousands were forced into re-education camps. But, five years after the coup, civil society is showing signs of re-emergence. Unless Hun Sen is willing to use much more repressive means to curtail civil society activities, it is highly likely that CPP dominance will face the same legitimacy challenges Prayut and the NCPO face today. Discounting the power of civil society in Cambodia is to not properly remember its history. Cambodians who faced human rights challenges during the Khmer Rouge eramobilized society and formed the basis for a robust human rights movement–even before the arrival of UNTAC. While it may not emerge in the short-term, it will inevitably happen.

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សេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៍អំពីការបោះឆ្នោតនៅកម្ពុជា

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Cambodian

Posted in Economics, Education, Leadership, Politics, Researches, Social

Op-Ed: The CEROC

គណៈកម្មាធិការដើម្បីសិទ្ធិបោះឆ្នោតរបស់ពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសសូមថ្កោលទោសជាឱឡារិកដល់ការបោះឆ្នោតនៅថ្ងៃទី២៩ ខែកក្កដា ឆ្នាំ២០១៨ ដែលប្រព្រឹត្តឡើងប្រកបដោយភាពលំអៀង មិនសុក្រិត្តយុត្តិធម៌ និងជាការបោកបញ្ឆោតសំលេងម្ចាស់ឆ្នោតប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ១៦លាននាក់។

គណៈកម្មការជាតិដើម្បីការបោះឆ្នោតឬហៅកាត់គជបជាអង្គភាពបង្គ្រប់កិច្ចអោយរដ្ឋាភិបាលដើម្បីបោកបញ្ឆោតប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ។ គជបមានមនុស្សធ្វើការមកពីគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា ហើយគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជាបានរំកិលខ្លួនខ្ពស់ជាងស្ថាប័នជាតិសំខាន់ៗ។ ក្រោមការដឹកនាំរបស់លោកនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រីហ៊ុន-សែន ការអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សេដ្ឋកិច្ចនិងការកសាងហេដ្ឋារចនាសម្ព័ន្ធគឺគ្រាន់តែជាការលំអររូបភាពខាងក្រៅតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ ពីព្រោះក្នុងរយៈពេលជាង២២ឆ្នាំនេះ លោកហ៊ុន-សែននិងក្រុមរបស់គាត់បានបំលែងប្តូរនូវស្ថាប័នជាតិដោយជំនួសវិញគឺក្រុមស្វាមីភក្តិរបស់គាត់និងគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា។

យើងខ្ញុំសូមអំពាវនាវអោយប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសទាំងអស់ត្រូវឈរប្រកៀកស្មារជាមួយបងប្អូនប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្នុងប្រទេសក្នុងការជំរុញអោយស្តារលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យឡើងវិញ មានការបោះឆ្នោតឡើងវិញដែលអាចឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងឆន្ទៈប្រជាពលរដ្ឋពិតប្រាកដក្នុងការជ្រើសរើសតំណាងរបស់ខ្លួន។ សហគមន៍អន្តរជាតិជាពិសេសប្រទេសប្រកាន់របបប្រជាធិបតេយ្យត្រូវអនុវត្តន៍ជាក់ស្តែងជាជាងគ្រាន់តែសំដែងចំណាប់អារម្មណ៍និងសេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៍មិនទទួលស្គាល់ការបោះឆ្នោតនេះ។ ជាមេរៀន សូមអោយក្រុមអ្នកប្រជាធិបតេយ្យនិងសហគមន៍អន្តរជាតិធ្វើការផ្លាស់ប្តូរទិសពីការពង្រឹងសមត្ថភាពប្រជាពលរដ្ឋម្នាក់ៗមកជាការពង្រឹងស្ថាប័នជាតិវិញ ព្រោះក្នុងរយៈពេល២៧ឆ្នាំនេះ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរម្នាក់ៗបានយល់សុីជម្រៅនូវខ្លឹមសារលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យបានមួយចំនួនធំហើយ តែពួកគេនៅជាជនរងគ្រោះពីគណបក្សកាន់អំណាចដែលគ្របសង្កត់ទាំងស្រុងទៅលើស្ថាប័នជាតិ។

Committee for Election Rights of Overseas Cambodians (The CEROC) solemnly condemns the national election conducted in July 29, 2018 which has been in bias, unfair, and manipulating the 16 millions of Cambodian population.

National Election Committee (NEC) is the biased body commissioned to manipulate the Cambodian people. NEC has employed staffs majorly from ruling party (CPP), and CPP has embodied themselves higher than key national institutions. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, economic development and infrastructure are just a decoration of outside look because during his mandate of over 22 years, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his entourages have exchanged national institutions to replacing with his loyalists and CPP party.

We would like to appeal all Cambodians overseas to firmly shoulder with Cambodian people inside the country to demand the returning back of democracy in Cambodia, to conduct a new election that could reflect the will of the people in choosing their representatives. International communities particularly those democratic countries must take action rather than just expressing concerns and making statement of election condemnation. As lessons learnt, all democrats and international communities should make change of their direction from individual citizens’ capacity building to strengthening national institutions because during this period of 27 years, individual Cambodian has deepened knowledge of democracy principles but they have been remained victim of CPP that has evolved themselves to control major national institutions.

អានសេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៍ទាំងស្រុង Read complete statement in pdf